


Just One Life

by lessiehanamoray



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Gen, Happy, Nature, Soft Goro Week 2020, goofing off
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-18
Updated: 2020-07-18
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:35:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,145
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25362502
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lessiehanamoray/pseuds/lessiehanamoray
Summary: Goro takes a day to himself in a park near Mt. Fuji, reconnecting with the things he loves.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 12
Collections: Day 7 - Free Day!





	Just One Life

Wind rushed past Goro Akechi. He sped down the nature trail on his bike, reveling in the fresh air slamming into his face.

How he loved getting to cycle just for fun. Just him and the quiet bike trail. The rather steep bike trail.

He sped down the hill, a rare grin on his face.

Goro glanced down to the stream running alongside the trail. It led to a small pond, a couple of miles into the national park. There were no roads, the trails the only way to reach it.

He looked forward to a quiet lunch.

A rock caused him to bounce up a little, but he enjoyed even that.

It felt so good to move again. A lifetime of running and fighting, and he got bored when things were peaceful.

Sure, he trained in Mementos all the time, locating distortions and potential targets. Running away from the Reaper. Harvesting shadows for cash.

But that didn't count. New enemies provided a bit of adrenaline, but once he learned their weaknesses they were...easy.

He needed a rush. A good rush. The kind of rush a rat must get when the predator finally gives up.

Ah, he could see the pond.

Goro barely slowed, preferring a sudden stop.

There were a couple of picnic tables and a small bathroom on the site. A small water fountain provided potable water.

Most importantly, no one else was here.

Totally worth skipping out on a school field trip. He'd been honest when he told his homeroom teacher he needed to work during the trip, but it had actually been for only one day of the four day long school trip.

He could have totally caught up with his class.

This was better than Kyoto anyway.

Goro hopped off his bike. He had brought a small cooler with a bento lunch and some iced coffee for his break. He could refill his water at the small fountain too.

There were a couple of picnic tables and a bench, but with no one around to judge him, Goro decided to plop himself on a nice patch of grass.

It was a clear day, Mt. Fuji visible in the distance.

Honestly, this was further out from Tokyo than he really should have gone. Shido didn't take well to Goro not being able to perform a job immediately. If something came up, he'd likely get in trouble.

And the lack of cellphone reception here guaranteed he wouldn't be able to respond immediately.

That was why he'd picked this particular park. It was more rustic than most, and no cell service meant no interruptions.

He smiled when he opened his lunch. Basic tonkatsu pork with some cabbage and a small container of katsu sauce lined the first layer. The lower layer held a nice layer of rice with egg furikake seasoning on it. A small side of simmered pumpkin sat beside the rice, getting some of its sauce on the grain.

Count on Jackie to make sure he brought a good lunch. She'd given him this box before dropping him and his bike off at the traditional inn and told him to keep it in his fridge until he went cycling.

Honestly, it looked better than anything the inn served.

Goro dug in. With no one around he could just dig in and enjoy his meal. Eating politely was really hard and he hated it. He'd always eaten with big mouthfuls growing up. Once he'd gotten a little older he'd fallen in love with mixing his flavors too. That was why he enjoyed curry and stew so much. He could eat them properly and still really enjoy them.

Who didn't like eating their cabbage with each mouthful of meat? Or catching some rice on the pumpkin pieces?

The bits of diced boiled egg in the rice was a pleasant surprise too.

Goro mentally promised himself he'd say yes next time Jackie asked him to practice with her. He owed her for this awesome meal.

He cracked open the seal on his iced coffee.

Good. Still cold.

He liked straightforward black coffee, and the bitterness went really well with the slight sweetness of the pumpkin dish.

Goro leaned back, finally content to slow down now that he'd eaten over half his lunch.

A gentle breeze wafted across the pond. The trees sang a quiet chorus.

Goro began to murmur along with the trees, listening to the full song in his mind.

"Sunlight, the ray of morning that woke me up.

Shines again - _all over my sight_ \- on this world."

He couldn't match the pitch, could hear the imperfection in his voice.

"While holding the collapsed promise all alone by myself

I'm chasing over - _it's over my blind_ , - the yesterday in eyelid."

With no one else around, it didn't matter.

" _Stay high_ , I've forgotten

the clear blue sky."

He got a little louder, the song so clear in his mind.

"Surely given by you

the shining true feeling."

He'd never been a very good singer, but...

"Someday, if the strength of our held hands are scarred

I won't let it go, dear friends

We'll be like this, always."

Goro fell back, laying in the grass to stare up at the bright blue sky and pure clouds.

"I wonder how many days strayed 'cause we looked up at the same moon?

Have you getting past - _we told you so long_ \- the same goodbye?"

The wind stopped, and with it his backup singers.

Goro closed his eyes, enjoying the sun on his face and remembering that spring. It was autumn now, but it would be spring again soon enough. And by then, by then maybe he could enjoy more days like this.

Realizing he wasn't likely to eat any more of his bento, Goro packed it back up and stuck it back in the cooler.

Maybe he'd finish it for dinner.

He took a few minutes to stretch then, staring out at the pond and drinking iced coffee between sets.

He'd have to come back here sometime. Maybe bring Kara.

Goro turned back to his bike, carefully securing his small cooler down again.

With one last glance at the pond, he hopped back on, continuing along the trail.

He rode more slowly now. The birds sang around him, and he whistled in a vague attempt to match their songs.

A crow called.

He called back.

The sound of his own caw, an awkward attempt complete with a vocal break, forced a smile on his face and a chuckle from his throat.

He wouldn't dare do it on live TV, but maybe the next time Sumire or Sae was bored he could provide them a demonstration.

Sae would probably just tell him to stop goofing off.

Sumire would like it though. She always got bored hanging out at the television station.

He swerved slightly to avoid a toad in the path.

No one wanted toad grue on their bike.

Goro rode like this for some time, but eventually it was time for another short break. It wasn't that he couldn't go longer, he could easily ride the trail in one go if he wanted, but rather that this looked like a good spot.

A giant tree stood amid a sea of grass, the last summer blossoms clinging for life. The tree's upper branches swayed and sang in the autumn breeze.

Goro hopped off his bike and walked up to the tree.

It had a lot of sturdy branches, even lower down.

He looked around, confirming that no one else was around.

Good.

Goro took a few steps back from the tree.

And then ran right for it.

He jumped high, right before the trunk, and wrapped his hands around the lowest branch.

Excellent.

With a boyish grin, Goro pulled himself up. He made sure to keep on his helmet and bike gloves for this, but wasn't too worried.

Though the gloves had certainly made the grab more pleasant. The last thing he wanted was to slip and end up with a hand full of splinters.

He straddled the branch now, looking around for his next best option.

No problem.

Goro slowly rose to his feet. With careful balance honed over a lifetime of stealth, he balanced precariously on the branch. He could reach the next one.

He tugged down on it hard.

It barely bent.

Perfect.

Goro pulled himself up that one.

Not much more, and he'd have a lot more branches to work with. At that point he could probably just shimmy up the trunk and use the branches for hand and foot rests.

He pulled himself up the branches easily, enjoying the slight strain on his arms every time he lifted his weight up.

Rock climbing in gyms was fun and all, but nothing could beat natural climbing. Tree, rocks, fences, whatever.

Ah, here he was.

Goro carefully moved next to the trunk

The tree was tall, taller than anything around it, and he would conquer it.

Anyone catching a glimpse of Goro Akechi climbing the old tree from a distance would have wondered if they were seeing a monkey. Now that he had consistent holds, he clambered through the branches without pause. Twigs and leaves fell on his head, rolling off his helmet. Splinters stuck out of his gloves. A particularly pointy branch tore a small hole in his shirt.

He didn't so much as glance at it.

Anyone catching a glimpse of Goro Akechi climbing the old tree from up close would never have believed it was him.

His laugh didn't sound like the laugh Goro Akechi used, and he was far too messy.

Finally, the final branches. And they were huge.

With a true grin on his face, Goro clambered up the last few branches. He rose above the main trunk. From there, he found a spot where he could grab a slightly higher branch for support and rest his feet on a thick sturdy one.

His head peeked up over the top.

Mt. Fuji loomed in the distance. Not too far along, he could see the pond where he'd had lunch. Birds flew overhead. They seemed so much closer now.

The breeze up here felt nice. Goro closed his eyes, letting it cool his face. He felt like Robin Hood, hiding out in Sherwood Forest.

Or perhaps Loki, standing atop Yggdrasil as he prepared for Ragnarok.

Goro opened his eyes again.

Up in this tree, he felt more alive than he had in a long time. The fact of the matter was that fighting shadows scared him. Something could happen to him in Mementos or a palace and no one would ever even know. He'd just disappear.

That kind of adrenaline, that kind of fighting, it wasn't fun. He wanted a fight people would remember. A fight with real meaning.

Right now at least, he felt important, like he was the king of the world.

Goro Akechi decided to stay up in that tree for a while. Getting down wouldn't be easy anyway, and he liked it up here.

It was indeed some time before Goro Akechi returned to his inn, long enough that the hostess had begun to worry.

He flashed a smile at her.

She blinked in surprise at him. "Your dinner will be ready soon."

"Can it wait a bit?" He gestured to his...everything. "I need a bath."

"I'm glad you enjoyed the park."

"Immensely."

Goro had fallen out of the tree, though after he'd gotten most of the way down. He'd be sore tomorrow, but a nice bath would help with that too. Plus, he'd biked the entire park. He glanced to his cooler. He'd even paused to pick some flowers.

"It won't be fresh," she warned him, "but just give the front a call when you're ready."

"Thank you very much."

Goro wandered down the hall to his room.

A traditional Japanese room, partially outside. Simple paper doors protected the guest's privacy to the courtyard. The sound of the courtyard's fountain filled the room with the sound of water.

Goro started his bath. It rested in the room's private little courtyard. White stone decorated the ground. The branches of a large willow hung down into the space.

He hadn't felt this happily exhausted in a long time.

A breeze rustled the willow branches.

Goro quietly accompanied its swaying dance with a song.

"People come and they go

Some people may stay with you though

I am all alone tonight and I kept on

Asking myself questions."

He took a long breath, enjoying the smells of the stone and the earth, the sound of the water.

He showered briefly to get the leaves and dirt off before sliding into the warm tub. Looking up, he could just see a pink cloud.

Goro slipped low in the tub.

He hadn't felt this relaxed in a long time.

**Author's Note:**

> I made it through Soft Goro Week and actually posted something for each day! I feel so proud right now. Plus, this is probably the happiest Goro I have ever written. He's usually got some melancholy to him, but barely any in this story.
> 
> I tried to incorporate some elements from my other stories for this week though. I think I got a little reference to most of them at least. If you enjoy this, I'd love if you checked them out too. And all of the Soft Goro Week collection.
> 
> I nabbed the title from one of the songs I listened to while writing this: Just One Life by Spyair and from Samurai Flamenco. It's a song that always fills me with joy, and I hope I infused some of that joy in my writing.


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